Apocalypse
by xxxMusarockz
Summary: Stella wakes to an annihilated and abandoned world. Creatures like none she could imagine lurk in the ruins, fiery meteors fall from the sky, and each day brings more darkness. Riven finds her after she narrowly evades death and together with their friends, they struggle to survive. But somewhere along the way, even as death seems inescapable, they find love, bright and burning.
1. Annihilation

**Here it is - my promised Stella and Riven story. It won't be long, only around five chapters but I promise those chapters will be fairly lengthy. And as fulfilling in romance as I can make them.**

**Also, a small warning that future chapters will contain some gore.**

**And now that I have nothing more to say, happy reading!**

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**Chapter 1: Annihilation **

Stella found herself running. She didn't know where she was headed or what exactly she was running from, but the moment she'd regained consciousness and heard that ear-splitting caw, she knew she had to run.

Racing past the hardly recognizable school gates, she dared a glance back at Alfea. The building lay broken and blackened. Everything was covered in ash. The trees in the gardens had been charred to nothing more than shrivelled trunks and gnarled branches. There were giant voids in the school walls, some spewing fire, others as dark as the sky. Furniture flung out from what was presumably an explosion was sprawled across the quad. Embers glowed in the burnt grass. And there, behind the shattered window Stella had woken up facing, a figure moved, letting loose another caw and causing Stella to run harder.

She still had no idea where she was going, but stopping to think was like embracing doom. She just had to get away from Alfea and whatever lurked within the building before it came after her. It wasn't a fairy like she'd thought upon waking up. The creature's wings were too huge and its form too bulky and angular. Then there was its screech – a hellish sound like no fairy could produce, even if her wings were being torn from her back.

Panting as she ran, Stella wished she could close her eyes. Magix was in ruins. She'd glimpsed Lake Roccaluce bounding past it, only to find a film of ash floating on top of it and fires on nearby tears. And when she'd looked up at the sky, it offered no hope, veiled by grey thunderclouds, rendering everything dark and even more desolate. Stella felt like she no longer recognized the realm. It was drained of colour, the orange from the many fires the only sort prevailing. The only sound the crackling of those same flames. Until that ear-splitting caw filled the air.

When Stella heard it, she froze in fear. The creature was at her back – she sensed it – and it was heading straight for her. She could hear the loud flapping of its wings, feel its eyes steady on her back, and suddenly, could see its shadow on the ground by her side. In the next instant, she was under that shadow and the creature was diving for her.

It cawed once again, just metres from her neck and she flinched, being deafened but at last breaking out of her frozen state. Then before she knew what she was doing, she instinctively spun around, firing the strongest attack she'd ever conjured at the creature. A stream of yellow light shot out from her palms, striking the creature at its core to send it hurtling backwards. It gave a violent pain-filled shriek and glowing a blinding orange, it fell to the ground, where it writhed for a few moments as it let out the last of its caws and screeches.

Stella watched, breathing thickly, as the creature stilled. She'd never seen anything like it before. Heavily clad in metallic armour, it was at least twice her height, with thick, black, crow-like wings. A belt of daggers circled its waist and under its right hand was a sword, seeming sharp enough to slice cleanly through a tree trunk. Needing something to defend herself with now that she was low on magic, Stella went over to pick up the sword. She moved it towards herself using her foot, careful not to cut the underside of the slippers she was wearing, and then lifted it. It was a little heavy, but its silver hilt was small enough to fit in one hand.

"What? You're not going to retrieve the daggers?"

"Riven," Stella gasped, having whirled around at break-neck speed with her sword poised and ready to swing, chill bumps covering every inch of her body. She was surprised to see him, but at the same time profoundly relieved to realise she wasn't the only one around. "I never thought I'd be glad to see you."

He rolled his eyes. "What you should be glad for right now is that thing's lack of magical power, or you'd have been knocked out long before you heard its screech. And if that were the case and I turned out to be the last person you laid eyes on, then I'm sure your statement wouldn't apply."

Stella could only glower at him as he stepped towards the creature and crouched down to undo its belt of daggers. She hadn't expected him to praise her for perfect attack, no, but she'd thought he'd be a little less hostile, considering the circumstances. At least he'd acknowledged that she wasn't among those who'd die happy after seeing his face.

Riven was slick with releasing the fastening on the belt's buckle and as he grunted, hoisting the creature up to pull the belt away, Stella's gaze snagged on the way his muscles stood out against his skin. The way they flexed as he righted himself. She was still staring at his body when he cleared his throat.

"Like what you see?" he asked, and Stella looked up to find him smirking at her and within a blink, she'd turned a deep, deep red. "I'm starting to think that, maybe," Riven continued, "you _would _have died happy if I'd been the last person you looked at."

Stella's brow shot up. "And _I'm _starting to think you would've gone into mourning after my death."

Riven scoffed. "Yes. I don't think I would've ever been the same."

They held each other's gazes for a moment, good-humour shining in their eyes in spite of their dire situation. That's when Stella realised his playfulness had only been to mask his true emotions. This – the fact that they were virtually abandoned in an annihilated world – was taking a toll on him too. "What are you doing here?" she asked finally.

"Looking for you," Riven answered and when she looked surprised, he elaborated. "Did you really think your friends would abandon you? The second they noticed you weren't with them, they began a search. I just happened to be dragged into it along with the rest of the guys." His tone grew fiercer then. "We would've left this hell hole by now if it hadn't been for you. Why the hell weren't you with the girls?"

"I don't know," Stella snapped, irritation flaring beneath her skin. "I think I was knocked out by whatever happened at Alfea. I woke up lying in broken glass on the quad, surrounded by things from our dorm, only they were all burnt. No one was around but that creature, and as soon as I heard it screech, I started running. And Riven, it's not my fault you're here. You didn't have to join the search. I wouldn't have expected you to."

"I'll keep that in mind next time," he growled as his eyes narrowed into a glare.

Stella glared back, matching the intensity of his gaze till she noticed that Riven seemed to be revelling in her exuding hate towards him. She felt like blasting him with an orb of magic, but fortunately for him she didn't have the energy. Why did he hate her so much? She had never done anything to him, except maybe offer some fashion advice, which he'd no doubt taken offence to. He just seemed to be constantly pissed off at her, as if something about her mere presence got on his nerves. She wanted to ask what it was but this was no time to discuss their hatred. There were more important questions to be asked.

"Where's everyone else?"

Riven dropped his glare, then looked away before answering. "They're searching in and around the city, in case you made it part way to the evacuation point and then got hurt. But Tecna's in the mall, at our hideout. She's trying to find the location to where everyone was evacuated to."

"They were _evacuated_?" Stella's eyes splayed and she looked even more fearful than before.

Riven nodded. "If you haven't noticed, there's nothing more than wreckage here. Those things – " he gestured to the creature on the ground " – are attacking Magix and they've destroyed everything, including all the schools and most of the city, which is why we need to leave. And the sooner that happens, the better, or we're going to end up losing our lives."

He stepped forward then, violent eyes boring into hers, and her heart started pounding for no reason she could understand. It beat harder and harder the closer he came and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't stop holding his gaze. He was towering over her now, staring down at her with that perfectly neutral and stoic expression of his. Then his hands were lingering either side of her waist. She saw him smirk on the edge of her vision, and she stiffened visibly, nervously awaiting the end of whatever he was doing as his fingers began to graze over the fabric of her nightdress.

The end came suddenly, in one swift motion, as he wrapped the belt he'd just retrieved around her waist and closed the buckle.

"They'll come in handy," he said, referring to the daggers on the belt.

Stella didn't know what to say; she couldn't think past standing so close to him – she could barely breathe – so she just nodded. And as Riven stepped away, she realised why he hadn't kept the daggers for himself. He already had a belt exactly like the one he'd just tied around her and a sword similar to her own, which only meant that he'd fought and defeated another creature. The dirt and rips on his suit were proof of his duel.

Stella couldn't help but wonder then how many of these creatures there were, or where they'd come from. They were nothing like the monsters she'd faced before – slimy, amorphous, possessing magic more often than not. These things were capable of true destruction, as evidenced by the state of Alfea. She hoped desperately that now that she was with Riven that he'd protect her should another creature come after them because the entire magical dimension knew she couldn't use a sword or defend herself without magic. And she had no idea when her energy would return since the sun seemed to have retired.

"Let's go," Riven said, already heading east towards the city.

Stella silently fell into step behind him, clenching her sword to keep her hands from trembling. Her gaze strayed to the forest around them as she walked, and upon sensing no scuttling or scurrying within the trees, she felt her fear grow tenfold. Most of the forest just looked like endless darkness, almost as if it were a reflection of the grey sky overhead. Stella was convincing herself that this was why she couldn't sense any life, not because all the animals had fled after suspecting danger, when a sudden explosion of light caught her attention.

What seemed like a fiery shooting star was falling in distance, leaving a stream of black smoke in its wake.

"Shit," Riven cursed as he traced its path with squinted eyes. The meteor was going to land somewhere at the heart of Magix City, and it didn't take long for him to figure out that its landing place had been predestined. His jaw hardened in determination and then he was running, faster than he'd ever run before.

Stella stood confused, watching after him. Surely the objective should've been to stay away from the falling meteor and not go running after it, but she knew Riven wasn't stupid and that he must have been heading its way for a reason. A reason, judging by his speed, that had to do with the rest of the team. Who he'd said were searching in the city…

Allowing herself a single second to quell the churning in her stomach, Stella took off, following rapidly in Riven's path. Her legs burned as she charged ahead but she didn't slow down. Not until the site of the meteor collision was in focus.

Although by then, it was too late.

The meteor had fallen directly on top of Magix mall and even if the building wasn't half crushed and being consumed by flames, Stella knew after seeing its former destruction that she wouldn't have recognized it even though the mall was her second home in the realm, after her dorm room at Alfea.

She drew closer to the building, where Riven stood less than a meter away from the flames closing off the entrance. She didn't understand why his eyes were filled with horror till she remembered more of he'd said, and suddenly her chest felt tight.

"Tecna...We have to get her out of there!"

Riven threw his head over his shoulder to look at Stella. "There's no way inside! There's fire everywhere!"

"She'll choke to death, Riven! We can't just stand here!"

Riven's throat was dry. He trained for these kinds of situations yet none of the tactics he could recall were of any use. He wasn't sure if he could do anything at all. Fire licked the building ferociously, blocking every entrance, every blasted hole. And from what little views the glass windows offered, he saw that most of the interior walls had collapsed; it would be impossible to get to the hideout where Tecna was.

"The back entrance," Stella shouted over the hissing flames. "The fire hasn't spread to the back of the mall yet; we could make it in. Come on!"

"No." Riven grabbed her arm before she could start rounding the building. "We won't make it back out. The fire will have spread by then."

"I don't care! I need to save her!"

"I get that," Riven said. "But you're being rash. You're low on magic, you haven't fully recovered from being unconscious, and just look at this place – there's _no way_ you could survive those flames or make it past the collapsing walls inside without getting crushed. There's no point putting your own life at risk for her."

"No point?" Stella gaped at Riven in disbelief. "She's my friend! And she would've been in there by now if I were the one inside."

"Only if she had magic," Riven said calmly. "You don't, so there's nothing either of us can do." He let go of Stella's arm then and met her pained gaze with a sympathetic one of his own that he hadn't even known he could muster. "Look, she had our hero-equipment with her at the hideout, and you know as well as I do that Tecna's smart. She would've used it to protect herself. She must be fine."

Stella sobbed, tears leaking from her eyes to land on the ash underfoot. "It'll be my fault if she doesn't make it out. If she dies."

"You couldn't help being knocked out. And anyway, we don't know if she's in there. She could've headed out in the time we got here."

"And it's a good thing I did."

Both Stella and Riven spun around to find Tecna standing before them. Apart from a few scratches on her arms, she was completely unscathed, holding onto her hand-held computer tightly.

"Tecna!" Stella jumped on her friend and as she squeezed her, she realised the relief she felt now was a whole universe more profound than it had been when she'd first seen Tecna after she'd escaped being trapped in the Omega Dimension.

Tears lingered in Tecna's eyes as she hugged Stella back while holding her computer out to the side to keep it from getting crushed between them. She hadn't known if she'd see Stella again, considering death was more probable than finding an undamaged structure in this hell Magix had become, but now that she was in her arms, hope didn't seem that illogical to maintain. If Stella could survive on her own, then they could definitely do it as a team and maybe even get to safety.

Stella pulled back from Tecna after she stopped sobbing, and when she turned to face Riven again her relief was quickly overshadowed by shock. She stood thunderstruck. "Are you _smiling_?"

"Yes." Riven didn't hesitate saying it. "Tecna's our only shot at finding the refuge where everyone's been taken to."

But Stella saw through that. He was just as glad to see Tecna alive and well as she was.

"So, what happened? You were in the mall when we left."

Tecna nodded. "I left to find a better signal. Luckily, those bastards didn't destroy the transmission tower as well as they think they did. I was there when the meteor came down."

"I'm taking it that flask of water is the only thing from our supplies you took with you?"

Tecna gave an apologetic frown. "Unfortunately."

"Damn it," Riven spat, glancing at the burning mall. "Those stun-guns would've come in handy. Especially when you girls run out of winx."

"I'm already out of winx," Stella mumbled, but Riven didn't hear her.

"The guys took some swords and shields with them," Tecna said, thinking back on it. "But you're right, we're going to need stun-guns. We should regroup then get to a weaponry shop."

"Here's hoping those creatures haven't taken all the weapons," Stella said as the three of them headed to look for the others.

"You know, for the fairy of the sun, you're not very optimistic," Riven snarled as he moved some large cinder blocks blocking the only fire-free way to the square, where Tecna had said the team were mostly likely to be.

"But I thought you liked pessimism?" Stella retorted with an innocent smile.

Riven glared daggers at her as she sauntered past him along the path he'd just cleared. He followed with reluctance, one hand wrapped around the hilt of his sword in his waistband. He knew he wouldn't be able to stand it if she said another word. He'd run out of patience with her after she'd thrown her tantrum about saving Tecna and then brought forth the waterworks. Fortunately, Stella seemed too caught up staring at what had become of Magix to even open her mouth.

He sidled past her to walk beside Tecna, who was single-handedly typing on her small computer. "Located anything yet?"

Tecna glanced at Riven before shaking her head. "I'm trying to get a holographic map of the realm so I can see if there's an area with an accumulation of beings, but the server I usually hack to get the map isn't responding. It's likely that its headquarters building is destroyed."

"Isn't there another way you can locate dense populations?"

"Yes, by sensing the population's concentrated energy. But that's the first thing I tried, and I got nothing."

"Of course you got nothing. The council must have masked everyone's energy to stop the creatures from tracking them."

"_Or _Magix is really deserted. It's possible that the evacuation was to another realm."

"In that case, we need to stop wasting time locating the refuge–"

"–and concentrate on getting out of here," Tecna finished and Riven gave a single nod. "I'll need a stronger signal to help with that, so I can establish an inter-realm connection and ask for rescue airships. The ones at our airports are no doubt in ruins like the ones at Red Fountain. And it would be foolish to assume after looking at this–" Tecna spread her free arm to take in the annihilated city "–that the Portal system is still working."

Riven gave another nod, then continued walking in silence, carefully scanning the wreckage for any movement. He glanced back at Stella twice to make sure she was still with them and both times he was surprised by how numb she looked, how overwhelmed by fear and shock.

It took a lot longer to get to the square from the mall that it would have on any other day. Riven had expected as much. They'd had to stop several times to make sure the coast was clear of any creatures and several more times to move smashed cars, blown walls and piles of metal out the way. But when they finally arrived, Riven immediately caught a glimpse of two heads of dark brown hair disappearing around a corner.

"Layla and Nabu." Tecna pointed as Stella stared in their direction.

Riven quickly picked up a piece of wood and gently tapped it against a metal counter sticking out from a nearby shop's shattered window. He wanted to create enough noise to get their attention but not enough to alert a creature. On the third tap, Nabu peeked around the bend he'd just walked past. And Riven saw his friend's shoulders visibly slump in relief when he realised that the noise hadn't come from a threat.

"Hey, you found her," Nabu said, coming to stop in front of Stella to give her a hug before leaving her to Layla's death hold.

"For better or for worse," Riven muttered and Stella twisted in Layla's grip to glare at him.

"Any luck finding the refuge?" Layla asked once she'd let Stella go.

"No. We're not looking for it anymore," Tecna explained. "The new plan is to simply leave Magix. We need to get to someplace that may still be online so I can call in airships from another realm. The signal on my computer keeps going."

"But what if the refuge is somewhere in Magix – underground maybe? – and we can get to it faster?"

"I haven't been able to locate it, so unless you or Stella can sense something–"

"I've already tried. I felt nothing."

"Then we stick to the new plan," Riven concluded.

"Wait," Nabu said and everyone turned to him. "You've ignored the obvious solution. Stella could just transport us out of here."

"I can't," Stella said, almost angrily. "I used most of my energy in an attack and I don't know when I'll get it back." She glanced up at the grey sky to point out the absence of the sun.

"What? I was counting on that."

The group turned to find Sky walking up to them wearing a frown, with Flora close behind. They both had numerous tears in their clothes and with one glance at the silver sword Sky carried, it became clear that they'd encountered a creature.

"Won't your magic come back after a while?" Sky continued to ask.

Before Stella could reply, Flora threw herself on her. "I'm so glad you're okay!" she gushed, and Stella felt tears drip onto her collarbone.

"Stella's energy doesn't come back in time like ours does," Layla told Sky. "She needs the sun to restore it."

"So how do we get to safety now?" Flora asked, swiping at her tears as she looked at Tecna for an answer.

"We're going to get online and call in help from another realm. But first, we have to find a weaponry shop and arm ourselves."

"And I think we should find a clothing shop on the way," Riven said, glancing around the loosely formed circle the group stood in. "I can't take you girls seriously in your pyjamas or Sky with half his suit missing."

The girls flushed at Riven's comment, looking down at their scanty and not-quite-opaque clothing. Then once Layla had gotten over her embarrassment, she took Nabu's hand and gestured towards the south end of the square. "There's an ordnance shop downtown. Let's go before those creatures pass through here."

"What about the others?" Stella asked just as the group started to leave. "Bloom, Musa, Helia, Timmy, _Brandon?"_

Flora glanced at Riven. "You haven't told her?"

"I can tell her now," he sighed, turning to Stella, who'd gone from looking confused to looking anxious. "The short version is that we lost them. After we assembled to look for you, they were separated from us when a team of soldiers ran past, trying to move us along to the evacuation point. We tried looking for them but in the end, we decided it was best to spread out to find you and–"

"So they could be _dead_?!" Stella cut Riven off, sounding horrified and on the verge of tears.

"Potentially."

"Tecna!" Flora gaped at her friend. "Don't listen to her, Stella. They could be safe at the refuge."

"Like it's possible they went to the evacuation point without her," Riven said beneath his breath.

Flora had just turned to angrily gape at him when that all too familiar caw filled the air and her attention snagged on a street to the right, blazing with red-hot flames. A creature stood in the middle, beady eyes staring at them through its helmet, wings spread ready to take flight.

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**There you have it-chapter one. And the real reason half the group isn't included is because I find it impossible to deal with so many characters. **

**Anyway, please tell me what you think. I'm really curious to know what you guys made of this. Critique is welcome.**


	2. Scratches and slashes

**Chapter 2: Scratches and slashes**

"That way!" Tecna shouted over the creature's resounding screech. She was running at the head of the group, weaving her way through the rubble strewn across the square towards one of the few shops that hadn't been reduced to ruins. She knew the shop well; it was an electronics store, boasting a set of double doors made from reinforced glass to prevent break-ins. She wondered whether the fact that the doors weren't shattered meant that the glass was too strong for even the creatures to break through. She had to hope as she unlocked the doors with a spell, slipped through and held one open long enough for the rest of the group to pass. Then just before the creature could fly in behind them, she threw herself against the door to shut it. The creature slammed into the door with a shriek, and Tecna was relieved that the sound didn't fully transmit across the glass to deafen her, and was even more relieved to discover that the creature – despite its heavy armour – couldn't in fact break through.

Hearing the loud slam against the glass, Sky and Riven rushed to help Tecna hold the door shut while Nabu, wanting the girls to conserve their magic for a more desperate time, said a spell to seal the doors. Purple light shot up the gap between them and only when doors stopped jerking open every time the creature threw itself against them did Tecna back away to join the girls, who were panting in the middle of the store, eyes wide with dread. Sky and Riven stayed by the threshold, just in case Nabu's spell failed to work.

"Now what?" Stella demanded, suppressing the urge to hiss in pain at her scratched arm. She glanced around the group, never before having seen such horror twist their faces. Even Riven looked scared. She stood staring at him, watching the way his deep violet gaze slid over them all to make sure they weren't severely hurt. She thought she saw him frown slightly when he glanced at her arm, but then thought better of it when he instantly looked away.

"I don't know," Flora said softly. "But we can't stay in here forever."

Sky nodded. "She's right. We have to keep moving; it's the only way we can survive."

"But where do we go? That thing's just going to follow us." Layla seemed to glare at the creature thrashing on the other side of the door.

"Sky and Riven are going to have to kill it," Nabu said. "We have to conserve our magic for as long as possible. Is there anything in here that could help them?"

"Not unless those things can be defeated by radio waves," Tecna replied, scanning the shelves and tables in the store. Then it hit her: she had access to radios. She quickly scrambled to the nearest one being displayed in the discount section and swiped away the promotion card beside it. Breaking open the base, she glanced over her shoulder. "I need batteries."

Riven glanced around the store, but the battery shelf was bare. Evidently the owner and the last people in the shop had taken all the batteries before leaving to evacuate. He cursed silently, angry that not even a single cell had been left on the floor amidst the discarded packaging. Then he glanced around the store again and spotted a storage room at the back. He gestured Nabu and Sky towards it and pulling his sword from his waistband, he turned to the girls. "Stay here and guard the door," he told them and instantly, Flora and Layla took up defensive positions, while Stella backed away, cradling her scratched arm. She could've sworn Riven glanced at her scratches as he walked past, but then, he might have been looking at her disapprovingly for not helping her friends defend, even though she was powerless.

Sword raised, Riven stood back as Sky kicked open the storage room door. It was pitch-black inside, but then Nabu extended his sceptre, and its dull purple glow revealed shelves and shelves stacked with cardboard boxes. Riven pushed past his friends into the room after lowering his sword; it was clear from the lack of wreckage that there were no creatures lurking within the shadows. His friends followed him and they began raking through the supplies in the boxes.

After finding only cords of wire, ink cartridges and headphones, Nabu finally came upon a small box of batteries. "Found them," he declared, flipping one of the packets over to examine it as he made for the door. "Let's pray they're the ones Tecna needs."

Sky walked out the storage room behind Nabu, carrying a box full of flashlights he knew they'd need for when night fell. Riven mildly noticed as his friends left; he was too immersed in a search for something of his own. He'd never really been looking for the batteries, but for a first aid kit. The urge to find one had come the moment he'd seen Stella's scratched arm. He figured she must have scratched it on a jagged piece of debris whilst running and initially, he'd thought nothing of it even though he'd noticed Stella clenching her jaw. But when he'd walked past her, he'd seen a larger gash and blood.

As he scoured through the boxes, Riven tried to convince himself that the group would later need the first aid kit and that he wasn't just looking for it for Stella. Her wound was simply what had triggered his search. But as he kept searching and found no trace of even a cotton swab, he realised his desperation to find the kit was for her.

Riven wanted to deny it, but there had been something about the way she hid her pain that he couldn't stand. He didn't like the look of fear on her either, and with clenched teeth he admitted to himself that that was why he'd light-heartedly joked with her when he'd found her. Numbness on her face was even worse. It was why he hadn't been able to look at her more than twice while they had been walking to the square.

He preferred seeing anger in her expression, the fiery glint of temper light up her golden eyes. He even liked it when she babbled on about clothes and shoes and her hair, because then, she looked alive. He just didn't like it when she decided to comment on what he wore. It was clear when she did that she didn't like him, that he would never be good enough for her.

Stella needed someone passionate, someone who could stand to hear those nauseating pet names, and put up with her shopaholic ways. Riven could never do that. That's why he'd never tried to create anything between them – he didn't give a damn that Brandon was in the way.

It wasn't just that Stella was attractive but that she possessed a light he couldn't help but feel drawn to. She'd had him trapped since the day he'd met her. She was outspoken, carefree and had a temper that mirrored his own. A temper which he loved. He'd been drawn to the way she carried herself, mesmerised by the valiant way she fought, and amused by her antics, at what came out of her mouth.

Stella seemed different now, changed. And that by nothing other than what had become of Magix and their situation. Riven wondered whether he'd ever again see the Stella he'd always been so drawn to. It seemed like it would take the ultimate brightness to burn through the fear clouding her eyes. He would have to find that brightness for her if he ever wanted to see her golden eyes without their current dullness.

The search for that brightness started now with finding the first aid kit, which at last Riven uncovered hanging in the darkest most corner of the storage room. He carried the small box out into the store, where everyone was gathered around Tecna as she wired her computer to the radio's circuit board. The box Nabu had found lay at her side, the batteries in it having been used.

"Any luck yet?" Layla asked just as Riven reached the back of the group.

Tecna twisted one of the knobs on the radio and when only static came through the speakers, Layla got her answer. There were no more questions after that. Everyone left Tecna to work in silence and the girls resumed guarding the door, behind which the creature continued persisting to break the glass.

Its perseverance reminded Riven of Stella and with that thought, his gaze trailed to her. She was still cradling her arm, standing beside Tecna, almost pleadingly looking at the radio, and Riven could see that there was more blood welling from the largest gash on her arm. He slowly crept towards her and gently, he took her elbow. She turned, blinking at him in confusion. Riven didn't explain; he just led her aside and motioned that she sit on a TV stand. As she perched on its edge, Riven crouched down and pulled a bottle of rubbing alcohol and swab of cotton from the first aid kit. Unscrewing the cap on the bottle of alcohol, he wet the cotton swab and reached for Stella's arm, without once glancing at her expression.

Stella couldn't believe what Riven was doing. She was convinced she'd woken up in a parallel universe. In shock she watched as he lowered the cotton swab to her skin, and she couldn't help hissing sharply when the alcohol met her scratches. Eyes clamped shut, she tried to pull her arm away but Riven's grip was firm around her wrist.

"Hold still," he said, tilting her arm for a better view of the scratches. They were worse than he'd thought. Each one was red, a raised line of flesh marring her perfect skin. The gash in the centre was the worst. It wasn't bleeding profusely but the gap between her split skin made Riven feel as if Stella needed stitches. He cleaned gently and carefully around the gash but Stella still felt the sting and clamped her hand around his wrist. His own hand tightened around her arm in response, and the next thing he knew, he was stroking the back of her hand with his thumb.

Stella's eyes flew open the moment she felt Riven's thumb brush her skin. Now she had no doubt she'd woken up in a parallel universe. "What are you doing?" she demanded shakily.

"Cleaning your wounds," Riven said, his thumb still rubbing her hand, his gaze still cast on her scratches, never flicking elsewhere. He paused as if warning Stella to brace herself, then ran the swab of cotton down the length of her gash.

Biting, blazing pain bloomed in Stella's arm and she bit down on her tongue to keep from crying out. Her arm jerked back but Riven tugged it forwards again.

"If you stop moving, I can get this done faster," he said, sounding almost annoyed as he continued cleaning around the gash, instinctively becoming gentler every time she flinched.

"I can't help that it stings."

"No. But it can't hurt more than getting hit by magic."

Another dozen swipes of the cotton swab across her arm and Riven picked up the tube of healing cream in the first aid kit. He squeezed a glob of it onto his finger and then spread it over the gash on Stella's arm, which looked raw from being cleaned. He noticed as he was dabbing the cream that she didn't flinch. Not once did her arm twitch even slightly. Riven glanced up at her, expecting to meet her gaze but found that she was sitting motionlessly with her eyes closed. His cream-laden finger stilling, he studied her: her creaseless forehead, her loosely shut eyes, the neutral rest of her lips. Serenity looked good on her, the same way vitality and anger did.

Finally detecting the absence of Riven's thumb against her skin, Stella broke from the calm the feeling gave her and her eyes flickered open. She caught Riven's gaze briefly as he looked down and resumed spreading the healing cream, and she would've bet her wings that he reddened if it wasn't so dark to be sure. A small smirk played on her lips until Riven started wrapping a piece of gauze around her arm, at which point, her lips parted to suck in a breath. The sudden pressure on her gash hurt. And the pain just mounted as Riven kept wrapping, pulling on the bandage to force her split skin closed. When he was done, Stella could only just flex the muscles in her arm.

Her gaze dropped to the bandage then, and after seeing how neatly it had been wrapped, she opened her mouth to say "I'm impressed – it didn't seem you were the type to pay attention in first aid class," when Riven's hand reached for her face. Stella almost fell off the stand she sat on. But then she felt something soft and wet glide against her cheek and realisation dawned. Riven was wiping her face with a cloth, damp with saline water. The open bottle stood next to her foot. He moved the cloth slowly over her face, rubbing at the more prominent patches of dirt, leaving no plane of her face uncleansed. Stella's eyes drooped. Her head felt light, tingly, like it did when the girls played with her hair at sleepovers. The only difference was that now she also felt hot. Whenever Riven would tilt his hand to move the cloth and his fingers would skim over skin, heat would rise to her face, rendering Stella wanting to swipe the cloth away and feel his cool and rough hand on her cheek, on her jaw, his fingers grazing her eyelids. The desire was terrifying but she couldn't think past it with him so close to her, mopping her skin.

She felt herself relax as he continued with his unexpected pursuit. The thought that they were abandoned and desperately trying to get to safety was so distant, it felt a forgotten dream, one she'd had years ago. The sound of the creature thrashing against the door was no longer audible, nor were the sounds of Tecna typing furiously on her laptop; the only sounds Stella heard were of her own breathing and Riven's. The only thing she smelt the saltiness of the saline water; the only thing she felt the softness of the cloth, the firmness of his fingers pressing on it.

He dragged the cloth over her skin once, then twice, until the dirt streaked on her face faded to reveal her untainted complexion. This was the first time Riven had seen her without makeup and he wondered why she wore it. Her features were perfect: Her skin had a natural glow and not a single blemish. Her lashes were naturally long and thick, and her lips needed no gloss to draw attention to their plumpness.

He let the cloth drop from his hand with an inaudible sigh, and at the same instant, Stella's eyes flickered. "Thanks," she said, her voice soft.

Riven gave her a small nod as he returned the supplies he'd used to the first aid kit. Stella watched him for a brief moment, then her gaze swept over the others in the store. Sky had moved to kneel beside Tecna and was saying something to her as she typed. Flora and Layla were still by the door, their stances tense, hands cupped around orbs of magic. Nabu stood by the cashier's counter, putting the remaining batteries in the torches Sky had brought out.

"Riven." Stella's gaze trailed back to him as her thoughts took an involuntary turn.

He looked up at her, pausing in the middle of screwing on a bottle cap.

Stella felt her stomach churn. "Do you think the others are…dead?"

For a single second, Riven seemed taken aback, then his nonchalance reappeared. He didn't answer. What could he say? He'd seen the way Stella had reacted when Tecna had hinted at the rest of the team's demise. She'd been devastated, looking as though she would be sick. If he told her they were dead for definite, she would only blame herself, and he couldn't bear to see guilt on her face. Not so soon anyway. He'd seen it just an hour ago, when she'd been crying for Tecna outside the mall.

He stayed silent, but she was staring at him, waiting for an answer. He knew that if he turned away, she'd only pose the question again, so he sighed and looked her straight in eye. "That's not important," he said at last. "What's important is thatwe're alive. If you keep thinking about the others, your morale's going to fall, and we can't afford that."

"How can you bear it?" Stella asked, her voice cracking. "How can you stand knowing that Musa might be dead?"

Riven closed his eyes. "Is this about Brandon?"

She shook her head and tears fell down her cheeks. "This is about how you don't seem to care about the others. I can see that you're scared, but you aren't worried or pained, like the rest of us. Even Layla and Nabu, who have each other, are worrying for everyone else, but you…" Stella sniffled. "Has Musa even crossed your mind? Have you spent even a second thinking about her?"

"I can't afford that in this situation," Riven said coldly. "We're trained to control our emotions in times like these and focus on surviving."

"She's your girlfriend!"

Riven scoffed. "That's less than an appropriate title."

"What does that mean?" Stella was staring at him now, eyes wide under crinkled brows.

Riven grabbed the first aid box and stood up. "I don't have to explain my relationship to you," he said, already walking away towards Tecna and Sky.

Feeling a shadow shroud her, Tecna turned to find Riven standing at her back, staring at her laptop. "It worked," she told him. "I managed to send out a help message."

Riven dropped to his knees. "Did you get a response?"

"We're waiting on one," Sky said, rubbing a finger on the laptop's touchpad to keep it awake. "But Tecna's not sure who the message reached, and if the transmission was only realm wide then we're not going to get anything."

Tecna nodded. "Which is why instead of staying here to wait for a reply, we should still try and find someplace online so I can reliably contact another realm and call in help."

"Can you think of anywhere that might still be online?"

Tecna glanced at Riven and when she caught sight of the first aid kit he held, her eyes lit up. "The medical research facility! They have one of the most consistent connections in the realm, and the centre's underground and extremely secure so there's a chance the creatures haven't destroyed it. And even if they have caused some wreckage, we're bound to find a working computer; the centre has hundreds."

"Sounds good. We'll head straight to the facility after we make a stop at a clothing and weaponry shop," Sky decided. Riven and Tecna nodded, then Sky rose to his feet, turning to look at the creature outside the store before glancing at Riven. "We better send that bastard back to hell."

Riven smirked as he stood, and both he and Sky pulled out their swords. Layla and Flora stepped away from the door, attacks waiting at their fingertips in case the creature gained the upper hand. "Just shout our names if you need help," Layla said as Nabu came towards them, his sceptre raised to lift the door-sealing spell at his friends' signal.

Riven gave Layla a nod, then rolled his neck while eyeing the creature, looking for any weaknesses in its armour he could plunge his sword through at the first chance. There were no such sorts of weaknesses. The entirety of the creature's gigantic body was covered in one piece of shiny armour. He would have to attack its wings just like he'd done with its brethren, a slightly smaller creature who he'd faced before happening upon Stella.

"Push the creature into the street as soon as the doors open," Nabu said. "You can't let it come in here; we won't have time to escape and it'll kill us all."

"The bastard's too big to push that far back. We'll have to throw something at it." Riven glanced around the store, seeking something heavy. But everything he found was small and light – toasters, music players, games consoles. The biggest things were the flat screen TV's, but they weighed next to nothing.

"I could produce a vine to throw the creature back," Flora suggested.

"No," Riven said, suddenly getting an idea. "Cast a spell on one of those TV's instead. Make it heavier. That way you'll lose less energy."

Flora immediately extended her hand and pink curls of magic floated towards the largest TV in the store. A second later, the stand it stood on sunk a little. Riven and Sky hurried over and with great strain lifted the TV and carried it back to the door. Layla and Flora stepped further away as they approached, and Riven didn't know whether it was so he and Sky had more space or so that they wouldn't become the creature's first prey if it got inside.

Lowering the TV to the floor, Sky and Riven flexed their muscles and set their aim on the creature's torso. Then they bent to lift the TV again and started to work up a steady swing. Riven glimpsed Stella's dread-etched face just before nodding at Nabu to lift his spell, and the next thing he knew, purple light was receding rapidly down the gap between the doors.

Everyone held their breath.

Suddenly, the glass doors burst open, the creature trying hysterically to push its huge form through the opening. And just as the doors slammed against the walls of the store, Riven and Sky launched the TV into the air.

They watched whilst being deafened by the creature's screech as the TV sailed towards the writhing monster.

It was a direct hit.

The creature staggered backwards, its feathery, black wings caving around its body. Riven pulled his sword from his waistband as swiftly as he ran outside. Sky was beside him in a matter of seconds, and sword raised, Riven charged towards the creature to make the first strike.

Stella couldn't bear to watch. She whirled on her heel, hands trembling violently at her sides. Her fear eclipsed even the burning pain that blossomed in her scratched arm as it shook. It eclipsed everything but the sound of the fight behind her: Metal clashing against metal. Feet scuffing the ground. Whooshes like a giant curtain being swung carrying on the air. There were grunts and thuds and sounds too blended to distinguish. But always, overpowering everything else, there was the constant screeching and cawing from creature.

Stella felt dizzy as she listened to it all. Her ears rung. And they were still ringing long after the noise had ceased.

"Stella."

She heard her name through the ringing in her ears, but only very faintly.

"Stella. Hey, Stel. It's over."

It was Layla's voice, Stella realised, and it was coming from near the door, where Layla obviously stood. Stella turned around, hoping she hadn't misinterpreted the relief in her friend's voice or made it up completely. She hadn't. Riven and Sky were safe, standing tall in the doorframe, the blood on their swords marking their victory. Stella couldn't help smiling, and it seemed the rest of the girls and Nabu couldn't either.

"Come on," Sky said after a moment of victorious silence. "We need to go. The noise we caused must've altered other creatures near here."

Stella hurried over to the group. She looked them all over and her smile grew with escalating relief and subsiding fear. The group filed out the store then, and as they walked past the battle scene, Stella spotted the creature lying on its front atop mound of cinder-coated bricks. Deep red blood gushed from its back where its wings should've been, sliding down its armour in thick rivulets to branch off into thinning estuaries at its legs. Its enormous crow-like wings lay crooked in the middle of the street; blood dripped from the place they'd been cut. The creature's sword, identical to the one hanging from the belt of daggers around her own waist, lay beside its head, and Stella noticed as she squinted that it was stained with blood. Her head swivelled to find Sky, but he only had a few more tears in his suit than before. Stella scanned Riven over next, then gasped, noticing the large slash in his waist. The blood on the blade was his.

Before she could bring it up, the group stopped, and Stella realised they'd made it downtown where the shops they needed to get to were.

Nabu pointed down the street. "To save time, I'll head over to the weaponry store and see what I can find, while all of you find a change of clothes," he said, gesturing to the wrecked clothing shop behind Flora.

"No." Layla grabbed his arm. "It's not safe to go alone. I'll come with you. Tecna can get me some clothes."

Tecna gave a nod. With that, Layla and Nabu hurried down the street while the rest of the group hurried into the clothing store. They waded through the clothes lying on the floor near the door-less entrance and stepped over the fallen rails and racks until they reached the back of the shop, where the only ash-free clothing hung. Everyone immediately spread out to find themselves a durable outfit, but Stella followed Riven.

She stepped in his path near the changing rooms and he raised a brow.

"You're bleeding," Stella said, glancing pointedly at his wound.

"I'm fine."

She glanced down at his cut again. "Tell that to the blood dripping down your suit."

Riven was about to repeat that he was fine when she grabbed the first aid kit he was holding and motioned to the cluster of seats in the shoe section. He knew better than to argue with her, not while she had on that look assuring him that she _would _get her way. He let out a breath, then walked over to sit on one of the seats. She kneeled down before him and opened the first aid box, taking out the same things he'd used to treat her scratches. He watched her with amusement, knowing as a princess, she'd never before attempted bandaging a cut. Let alone a slash the size of his.

"Why are you doing this?" Riven asked as she damped a cotton swab with the rubbing alcohol.

"I want to return the favour."

"Stella," Riven said, refraining from continuing till she looked up to meet his gaze. "You don't owe me anything."

Stella didn't seem to care. "Pull down your suit," she said as casually as she could, but Riven caught the hint of hesitation in her tone.

His lips curved into a smirk, and suddenly he wanted to see her blush. "You do it."

Stella almost dropped the cotton swab.

"What?" Riven said. "You're playing nurse, aren't you? Consider me a helpless battle victim."

He watched as she blushed right up to her hairline and far beyond the straps of her pale nightdress. Her eyes were wider than he'd ever seen them, golden irises glued to his own. He held her gaze as he reached behind his back to unzip his suit and peel it off the top half of his body. Her gaze flicked between his chest and face after the suit fell away, before finally settling on his chest. Riven's smirk grew. He made no comment, just let her take in the sight.

At last, Stella snapped out of her stupor. She'd been too dazed studying his chest to think, but now as all those held back lewd thoughts came flooding into her mind, she struggled to concentrate on cleaning his slash. She gave herself a moment to clear her head, then pressed the swab of cotton roughly, vengefully against his wound.

He didn't flinch.

Angry now, she briskly cleaned all around the slash, wanting a reaction from him. Anything. A simple clench of his jaw. But it was as though he was immune to pain.

Growling, Stella pulled out the roll of gauze from the box, and with a simple spell – one she could easily muster with her low energy – she made it wider. Then she leaned forward and wrapped the gauze around Riven's waist, hoping as she pulled on it that his wound would sting like hers had when he'd pulled on her own bandage and that she'd finally get a reaction out of him.

Riven still didn't react, but Stella had already gotten her revenge. By leaning forwards. Her nightdress had slipped dangerously low and Riven's mouth had gone dry. It hadn't helped that she didn't have a bra on. He sat, looking away from her at the shoes racks now. And she didn't have the slightly idea that he was as embarrassed as she had been.

Stella finished wrapping the bandage, and after securing it, she sat back to glance at her work. Riven's bandage wasn't as neatly wrapped as hers but it was holding and that's all that mattered. She waited for a moment till she remembered that Riven didn't voice his gratitude. She got up then, walked off to find an outfit and left him alone to examine his bandage.

* * *

Stella had just finished dressing herself when a scream she would never forget rang through the shop. She whirled to face the doorway and at the same time Riven, Sky, and Tecna's heads popped up from behind clothing rails.

There was a creature outside.

Fear spread like wildfire through Stella's body and she couldn't move. She watched as Tecna and Sky ran towards the changing rooms, watched as they ducked into a curtained stall. She knew she should run and hide like them, but she was even more frozen than before.

The creature had Flora.

It had been Flora who'd screamed.

Stella felt a cry rise up her throat. She opened her mouth. But then Riven was there, and his lips was on hers, and she was shoved to the floor.

* * *

**So...what did you think? Is it fluffy enough? Is it realistic that Riven feels that way about Stella?**


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